When it comes to expressing your love or showing appreciation, we all want to do it in the most memorable way possible—and with Valentine’s Day approaching, there’s no better time than now to show your loved ones just how much they mean to you. But how did we get to this famous holiday? And why should anyone celebrate it at all? Read on to learn more about how Valentines Day started as a day of love and appreciation, where the holiday came from, and what you can do to make your celebration as fun and special as possible.
Why does February 14th fall on February 14th?
Some say Valentine’s Day falls on February 14th because the last 10 digits are 14, which represents 2 people who have each other in their lives. Others say the name Valentine refers to Saint Valentine, the Catholic priest said to have helped married couples reconcile during his reign as a bishop. To this day, there is no universally agreed-upon story about why we celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 14th or how it originated. What is certain though, is that just one day set aside every year to show someone that you care can make all the difference in making your relationship stronger than ever.
One Saint, Two Saints, Three Saints…
Saint Valentine was believed to be a priest from the third century who had performed marriages for young Christian couples in Rome during the time of Emperor Claudius II. But Claudius II didn’t like these Christians with all this lovey-dovey going on, so he arrested Saint Valentine, had him whipped to death, and then buried him under the Via Flaminia while still alive! And they say romance is dead!
Good Luck on St. Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day, often shortened to Valentine’s, is an annual holiday observed on February 14. It originated as a Western Christian feast celebrating one or more early saints named Valentine whose unknown date of death falls on that date in different sources (possibly in 269 AD). The observance is associated with the legend that Saint Valentine performed marriages for young couples who were too poor to afford a church wedding. In several countries, it is part of the traditional culture to give gifts such as flowers, candy, cards (known as valentines), chocolates, and stuffed animals on this day.
The Story Behind Julia Ward Howe
What is the history of Valentine’s Day? With all the potential from adulterous kisses, messy food, and breaking up (or making up) after arguments on this day, you would think it would be a pretty controversial topic. Valentine’s Day was officially proclaimed in 998 when Pope Gregory III designated Feb 14th as the Feast of St Valentine-a priest who died on this date. In 1859 poet Julia Ward Howe published The Battle Hymn of the Republic, which includes: Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. Howe got her inspiration for writing The Battle Hymn after seeing an illustration in Harper’s Weekly which depicted how Union soldiers felt about liberating Confederate slaves during the American Civil War in 1863.
There was really no ‘official’ Valentines card until 1934
Love can be found in the most unexpected places, which is why it’s often surprising to learn that Valentine’s Day is named after a third century saint. It all started with Saint Valentine, who lived from around 270-300 AD in what was then modern-day Turkey. Though he’s not as well known for his works as other ancient saints like Augustine or Athanasius, his name has been cemented in history for one specific event: supposedly when Valentine noticed young Christian boys about to be executed for their beliefs, he offered to sacrifice himself instead – if he would spend 2 years in jail.
So how did the modern ‘valentine card’ emerge out of these historic origins?
It all started with an Emperor, who had been on many campaigns to the Near East, Africa, and Europe in the 4th century AD. His name was Claudius II. He noticed that one group in the Roman Legions only gave their own blood-brothers trinkets while others would give tokens to those they cared for outside their Legion friends, which is why we can also call Valentine’s Day the Feast of Saint Valentine. The card emerged from this need for people to express themselves through physical gifts other than to just inside friends or family members.
Where do we see contemporary valentine’s celebrations today?
Valentine’s Day is now seen in mainstream American society every year as the most popular holiday, with most retail outlets having romantic themed decorations, flowers, balloons, etc. Restaurants like IHOP have special Valentine’s Day dishes like heart shaped pancakes and red velvet waffles with strawberries. Theaters often offer discounts for couples on this day too. The internet has also had an impact with companies such as Hallmark sending free e-cards to lovers all over the world! This can be attributed to the commercialization of Valentine’s Day that arose during the Great Depression when retailers thought this might boost business because people were feeling so down about their finances – it actually worked!
The History of Valentines Day: How a Day of Love Began
Valentines Day has been celebrated in one form or another since the Middle Ages, and its origin story runs long and deep—even though the day itself was only officially recognized in the early 1900s. In fact, there are several origin stories for Valentines Day, including the one about how Valentines day started as a day of love and appreciation from Pope Gelasius to St. Valentine because he aided in secretly marrying couples who were forbidden to be together due to social differences . . . but that’s just one version of the story! Here’s another.
Where does the tradition come from?
Traditionally, the holiday is seen as being an old Roman pagan celebration dedicated to the Roman goddess Juno. The Goddess Juno was also called Pasqualis and it’s believed that when Christianity spread across the Roman Empire, the day continued to be celebrated. It has been suggested by historians that Valentine’s day may have started as a sort of liturgy honoring St. Valentine who was martyred for marrying Christian couples in defiance of imperial orders in the third century AD
. Furthermore, those who were considered unmarried or were not partnered often marked this day by exchanging love notes or flowers with one another as well.
What made it catch on in America?
To be honest, when it comes to Valentine’s Day, we Americans have stolen our holiday. Like other English customs, like Christmas or Boxing day, we took our own spin on it and turned it into what is now a day for loving and appreciation. Started in ancient Rome as the feast to honor Juno Februata (goddess of women and marriage), this day was believed to have been spread by an early Christian man named Valentine who had instructed the couple to exchange vows on this annual event that became known as St. Valentine’s Day.
When did it become commercialized?
Valentine’s Day has historically been popular in England and other parts of Europe. One of the earliest references to the holiday was made by Chaucer in his Canterbury Tales when he wrote about a custom in which men would buy their loved ones presents or flowers on Feb. 14, which came to be known as St. Valentine’s Day. A more modern way to celebrate Valentine’s day, with more relevance to the commercial holiday that it is today, can be traced back to English author Charles Dickens’ 1847 published book A Christmas Carol wherein Dickens described December 25th as ‘St.
Where did Cupid come from?
The idea of Cupid was brought to us by the Roman poet Ovid. Legend has it that he’s the son of Venus and Mars, who accidentally let loose three golden arrows while playing with his mother’s (Venus) hair. These arrows had different effects on their targets depending on what they hit, including desire.
After Cupid fell in love with Psyche, he gave her a special potion that made her invisible when she asked him how she can see him, but when the Queen told her the truth about why he never came to see her anymore after giving Psyche the potion, Psyche’s curiosity got the best of her and she decided to see him again without drinking his second cup.
Modern Celebrations Today
A new trend in celebrating Valentines is to forget the commercialism and instead show your loved one your appreciation. Send them an anonymous note telling them what you love about them. You don’t even have to be signed, if they know you’re the only person who would say it, they’ll cherish it even more. If you want, you can write someone else a letter too! It’s just for fun so no one will know that it was from you, but that doesn’t mean that their day won’t be special because of it.
Some Fun Facts About Valentines Day (and they are better than candy!)
Valentine’s day started as a day to celebrate Christianity and the martyrdom of Saint Valentine. It is not known whether Saint Valentine was really born on February 14th, but we do know that he died in the early third century. Saint Valentine became one of the four patron saints for lovers because he is believed to be the first Christian martyr to give wedding messages from jail – though it’s also said that he converted his jailor to Christianity.
valentine’s day history facts
Every year on February 14th, we gather friends and loved ones for dinner, shopping trips, and other events in order to celebrate love. In many cultures across the world this day is celebrated as Saint Valentine’s Day. Many have debated where this tradition actually originated from. Some believe it began when Pope Gelasius in the 5th century designated November 27th as a day to honor one’s beloved and promote happy marriages; or when an ancient Roman man named Februus was worshipped for driving away evil spirits that are associated with winter; or from the pre-Christian Lupercalia festival that took place on February 13-15 (this was before Julius Caesar). However, not too much is known about how Saint Valentine came to be associated with February 14.
Best thing About Valentine
In the Roman empire, February 15 was celebrated as the Feast of Lupercalis or Day of Juno. Legend has it that this is when two shepherds called Romulus and Remus were saved by a wolf. The day also coincided with an ancient pagan holiday honoring Juno – Rome’s equivalent to the goddess Venus. So as Christianity spread through Europe, so too did Valentine’s Day. However, church leaders soon became concerned with the day’s associations with sex and debauchery. As such, they lobbied to make Saint Valentine’s Day into a feast day instead to counter its pagan associations and encourage Christian love over everything else.
